Leave It to Fate
by Mayra
Summary: OK, basically Thalassa gets sucked into a different galaxy, and is faced with the challenges of adjusting to this new lifestyle. Chapter 6 is up! I'm swamped with other work at the moment, but I'll start up chapter 7 soon! Please R&R!
1. Nightmares and Soccer Balls

Nightmares, and Soccer balls  
  
  
There was a flash of lightning followed by the tell tale clap of thunder as the storm worsened. Soon there would be hail the size of volleyballs pelting at the city streets. Faster than a blink of the eye, a bolt of lightning strayed over to a power line, which quickly ignited. Flames rapidly spread across the town until it was fogged up with a thick, suffocating layer of smoke. Everyone was either running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, or huddled in sheltered corners whimpering. People were in a state of panic.   
Everyone that is, except for Thalassa. She had been through this scene many times before.   
It had monopolized her dreams at night ever since she could remember. After witnessing this chaos time and time again, Thalassa wasn't affected in the least. Yet if this didn't affect her, why did she jolt awake each night with fresh, salty tears streaming down her cheeks?  
Early one morning after a particularly painful episode, Thalassa went out to practice her shooting techniques. Since it was her last year of Junior High, she wanted to impress the head coach to the point of amazement. Thalassa already had secured her position as captain of the soccer team, but she kept in mind that if she skipped her daily routine, it could ruin her chances of a scholarship when it came to college.   
"Hey Thallie babe!" Cried out a familiar voice. "My grandmother could execute a scissor kick better than that!"   
"I'd like to see you try one!" replied Thalassa. "Oh, and by the way, Chadwicke, I'd prefer if you wouldn't add the babe onto my name. Thallie is just fine!"  
"OK Thallie babe!" Chad called as he stopped in front of Thalassa's yard. Thalassa turned sharply and glared at him. He got the drift and started running, but with only a few quick strides, Thalassa had tackled him to the ground.  
"Whoa, whoa! Thalassa don't kill the poor guy!" Shouted yet another voice coming from the street. Thalassa looked up, with her glossy brown hair catching the sun so that it looked almost bronze. Claudia looked down at the two of them, Chad still squirming to get up, and started giggling. She fell to the ground in a complete laugh attack while Thalassa finally gave in and let Chad stand up.   
"That was pathetic!" Logan called from across the street. "I bet I could take you!"   
"Yeah?" Asked Thalassa jokingly. "Ya want some o'this? Bring it on!" Logan just smiled and shook his head as he headed over to Chad.   
"Yo wassup ma homie?" He said as he and Chad did some weird handshake that Thalassa figured guys must be born knowing. The foursome headed off down the street meeting up with some other peers as they went along.   
After a long day of boring classes, Thalassa raced off to the soccer field with Claudia, so that they could get some shots in before practice. Upon arriving at the field, they noticed two other girls on their team, Kasmira and Alizx.   
"Hey how about some good ol' keep-away?" Thalassa challenged as she jogged over to them. "Two on two, up to 8. Winners take all."   
"Sheesh Thalassa! Do you always have to be so competitive?" Asked Kasmira. Thalassa just grinned and ran off with the ball.   
"Is that legal?" Alixz questioned, as Thalassa didn't show a sign of turning around. Kasmira and Claudia shrugged before they all went sprinting after Thalassa.  
Two hours later, Kasmira, Claudia, Alixz, and Thalassa were walking home from practice, looking as though they had just been through battle. Not one of them wasn't covered in dirt, and scratched from the elbows down, yet they were all smiling.   
"Did you see that awesome slide tackle I gave LiLi?" Thalassa asked, with a boasting tone in her voice.  
"Yeah that was so cool!" Agreed Kasmira. "LiLi so deserved that after all those snide remarks she was giving you!"  
"Thalassa, I just know that you're going to make varsity next year! You're so good at soccer!"  
"What do you mean only mentioning soccer?" Claudia put in. "She's good at EVERYTHING!"  
"Anyways," Thalassa said, as she blushed a deep crimson. "Are you guys going to Jenny's sleepover tonight?"   
They all looked at each other, and started to laugh. Jenny had been following them around since the first grade, and could never take the hint that they didn't like her. She always seemed to try to fit in too much, and she seemed really pathetic when she was sad, so they usually ended up giving in, and going over to her house about once every two weeks. It wasn't that she was too "unpopular" for them, she was just really mean, and obnoxious.   
"Omigosh I have the BEST plan!" Claudia exclaimed after a few moments of silence. "How about we bring our own entertainment rather than watch Disney movies while we're there? We could, I don't know, wear really nice clothes and do makeovers or something." Claudia's goal in like was to become a makeup artist for Hollywood starts, so she always jumped at the chance to give someone a makeover.  
"Are you saying that I'm not pretty enough for ya? Huh?" asked Thalassa, pretending to be hurt.   
"No! Of course not! It's not that you're not pretty enough as it is-"  
"What are you talking about?" Someone asked from behind them. "Thalassa is beautiful!" All four girls turned around to see their friend Zac, who apparently had been following them the whole way. He blushed, and then said in his own defense, "Well, that is, according to everyone else she's beautiful. Yeah, that's it! I wasn't the one who said that originally, I heard it from someone else! Honest!"  
Thalassa smiled, and replied. "Zac, you are too much! Well, tell whoever told whoever you heard it from, that I say thanks!" Zac grinned, and jogged away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kasmira, Alixz, and Claudia all burst into giggles.   
"You guys are so immature!" Thalassa exclaimed. "Well, here's my road! See ya later tonight!"  
"DON'T FORGET TO WEAR FORMAL CLOTHES!" yelled Claudia after Thalassa's retreating form.  
"SO LONG, FAREWELL, SYANARA, AU REVOIR, ADIOS! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Thalassa hollered back in response.  
"That girl is too much!" Laughed Kasmira, as they split up to go their separate ways.  



	2. To Take an Innocent Walk

Chapter 2 To Take an Innocent Walk  
  
At about 7:30 that night, Thalassa was leisurely folding some clothes into the duffel bag she had made in Home Economics. She finished with the clothing and moved on to the bathroom. Now onto the formal clothing. Thalassa skeptically glanced through her closet, finally extracting a turquoise pool dress that came down around her knees, and a white blouse to go over it. She swept her hair up into a messy bun, and decided to add a few of her old butterfly clips for good measure. Completely finished, and with nothing else to do, Thalassa pulled out her Discman and pager/cell phone. Using that, she could also check her email, and go online. It was a very handy little gadget. Finished packing, and with no other procrastinations available, Thalassa gloomily trudged out of her room, as though she was walking up to the guillotine. Jenny and the others greeted her, all but Jenny looking very solemn.  
"Thalassa!" They all squealed when she stepped inside. Hence the party started. Thalassa was given the job of doing everyone's hair, which she was very good at. She loved to come up with elegant, new styles. Her "masterpiece" that night was Kasmira's hair. Her long, blue-black locks were swept back in a fancy twist, and fastened with a large tropical flower that matched her orange sundress. After two rolls of film had been taken of them, the five girls headed downstairs to set up their sleeping bags, and find all the supplies they'd need for later on that night (i.e., the school directory, two phone receivers, a movie, popcorn, cards, the works).   
Just a few minutes later, a game of truth or dare was in full swing. The first dare was toward Thalassa, she had to call a guy and talk to him for at least ten minutes. Of course it was Jenny who shelled out this dare (who else would it be?).   
"OK, I'll call Chad." Thalassa said, completely unfazed.   
"Hey, that's cheating!" Jenny squealed. "It has to be someone that you're not good friends with."  
"Um, OK, then I'll call…. Zac." Thalassa answered, slightly ticked off at the strict rules of this dare. She looked him up in the phone book, and confidently dialed out his number.  
"Hello, may I please speak to Zac?" Thalassa asked, amidst a chorus of giggles coming from Jenny.   
"This is Zac, who's this?"  
"Thalassa Andrews, I'm in your…"  
"Math, Science, English, and Health classes." Zac interrupted, without any hesitation.  
"Um, yeah. Anyways, I was just calling to chat for a while, so, wassup?"  
"Nothing really, I'm watching late-night ESPN. You?"  
"Not much." There was a long, empty pause. The conversation lasted for exactly ten minutes and forty-five seconds of on and off chatter. However Truth or Dare lasted much longer than that single phone call, and it mainly consisted of stupid questions. Thalassa quickly tired of it, so she decided to go for a walk. She grabbed her backpack, (it had her walkman in it along with everything else), and slipped out the door while no one was looking.   
Thalassa had only gotten a few houses down when she stopped. There in front of her, was a strange, pale blue orb of light. Something compelled her to touch it, so she drew nearer, unafraid. As her outstretched hand came into contact with the light, she felt a jolt of energy rush through her body, and she was pulled off the ground. She looked down, but could see nothing but an endless sea of darkness. Completely blinded for the time being, Thalassa was gently floating through time and space.   
She woke up moments later, laying flat on her back on some hard surface. She sat up, and straightened her dress. As she stood up, she retrieved her mirror out of her backpack to check her makeup. 'SMASH!' She heard the shatter of glass as though from far away when the mirror hit the ground. Perhaps this was because the sound of it was muffled by her own scream. Ten strange guys, all of whom were staring at her as though she was a ghost, surrounded her. She screamed again, this time louder than ever before, in an attempt to attract some help.   
"SHHHHH!" One of the guys whispered. "You'll wake the commander! Don't worry, we won't hurt you."   
"Who are you?" Thalassa asked, for once timid in the face of someone else.  
"My name is Fabian. Who are you?"  
"I'm Thalassa. So, how do I bust out of this joint?"  
"We still have yet to figure THAT one out!" Replied another guy, whom Thalassa later learned to be named Carson. "This place is where we've spent the greater portion of our lives. We've been trained to protect this 'joint'. It's really not that bad, as it symbolizes our loyalty to the planet Jagrebian." He paused for a moment, as though listening for some distant cough of a fly, or something similar in volume. After what seemed like hours, he began to speak, in a softer tone. "I sense that the commander is alert, we must hide you, or you'll surely be tortured. He is quite paranoid of anyone who could be a…"  
"What in the name of Gigran is going on here? Who is that… that… girl, and what is she doing in the spacecraft chamber?"   
All the guys began to answer him at once, chattering away like a bunch of fast-talking chipmunks. However, Thalassa pushed her way through them, and walked right up to the commander.  
"Pardon me, Sir, but I seem to have taken a wrong turn. How far is it to Chestnut Creek Avenue?" The commander looked at her as though she were some daft, inferior being, and replied in a gruff, unforgiving tone, "Curse you, Jargon, for speaking to your superior like that. How dare you think of me as your equal? You will leave now, or face a night in the torture chamber."  
"Whoa! What crawled up your butt?" Thalassa shot back, completely insulted by the way that he was treating her. "Dude, we live in AMERICA! Where we are ALL equal! Now if you can't accept that… then why don't you go move to the moon?"  
"Which moon?" He asked, clearly getting annoyed by her presence. "Kisper, Freealish, Montague, or Suffain?"  
"Um, I have fully, no idea what you're babbling on about, but I was referring to THE moon. It's called 'moon'. Ya know, the one that's made outta cheese? Geez, what planet are you from?"  
"I am a native of the Planet Jagrebian." Shouted the commander. "I am the commander here. One more word out of you, and I myself will give you the whipping of a lifetime."  
"Child-abuse alert." Thalassa muttered under her breath.  
The commander glared at her for a split second, and drew out his sword.  
"Whoa, you weren't thinkin' of using that thing were ya? Didn't your mother ever tell ya not to play with knives?" Asked Thalassa, as she stood her ground. She was positive that no one would let him getting away with stabbing her.  
Thalassa was unprepared for what happened next. With a flash of light reflecting off metal, and a metallic clang, the sword penetrated the skin in her side, shooting pain up and down her body. She clasped her arm over her wound as she fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Upon glancing at her hand, she saw that it was now covered in thick, warm blood. "You are gonna pay for that one buddy!" She shouted, as she struggled to her feet. Thinking fast, she grabbed Fabian's sword, and sprang to attack. Using one swift kick, she sent the commander banging to his knees. She knocked his sword aside, and using Fabian's, pointed it at his throat. "That my friend, would have been a red card, but it was sooo worth it!" She said shakily, getting dizzy from the loss of blood. "Oh, by the way, this dress is dry clean only, you'd better have it spotless by morning." She limped over to the ten new people in her life, smiled weakly, and would have fallen to the floor, if Fabian hadn't caught her. Unconscious for the second time that night, she could have died, if it weren't for the expert medical treatment that she got from Carson. And sure enough, when she woke up the next day, her beautiful turquoise dress was completely cleaned, with no stains or tears.  



	3. Delayed Introductions

Chapter 3 Delayed Introductions  
  
Upon her awakening, all 10 guys rushed to her side, looking concerned. "Whoa, dudes, I'm fine!" She said, as she wobbled to her feet.   
  
"You don't look fine. You look like you're suffering. You are not yet healed, so you must relax." Replied a particularly handsome boy to the left of her.  
  
"Um, thanks……?"  
  
"The name's Locke." He replied, noticing her confusion.  
  
Suddenly, everyone started to introduce themselves at once, though Thalassa wasn't listening. She was staring deep into Locke's ocean blue eyes.  
  
Her entrancement with Locke's eyes was broken abruptly when Fabian grabbed her hand and pulled her away.   
  
"Dude, Fabian, what was that all about? All I was doing was looking at him! I don't think that deserves having my arm nearly yanked out of its socket!"  
  
Fabian looked at Thalassa with an exasperated expression on his face. "Thalassa,"  
  
"Thallie." Thalassa corrected.  
  
"Thallie," Fabian repeated. "Can't you tell that Locke is part fargote? You DO know what fargote is right?"  
  
"I don't care what fargoshamawhatzit means, that my friend is discrimination!" Thalassa snapped at Fabian. "Now, I don't know what's up with you, whether its jealousy, or… or… something else, but I am perfectly capable of choosing the company I keep for myself thank-you. Thalassa tried to turn back to Locke, but Fabian grabbed her arm, and held her back.  
  
"Listen Thallie, I'm sorry if I sounded rude or anything, but If you're going to make it here, there are some things that you need to know!"  
  
"OK, I'm all yours. Just talk and I shall listen." Thallie sighed, realizing that she couldn't wrench her arm out of Fabian's grasp.  
  
"Good, because I really hope that you will be able to adjust here. Now, one thing that you'll need to know, is that a fargote is sort of like a veela, except that they appeal to the female gender rather than the males. Since Locke is part fargote, the females that look into his eyes are immediately swept off their feet, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. We think that he was brought to defend this base solely for that reason, though we must admit, he is an excellent fighter. This base is the main line of defense for the planet Jagrebian. It has been repeatedly attacked by the cardiophlobians, so we built up a defense system. We are called The Defenders, since we are the highest in the system."  
  
Thalassa's attention began to waver, it all sounded like a bunch of gobbledegook to her, when her eyes wandered across the room to Locke. Once again, their eyes met, and Thalassa was off in another world (in a matter of speaking.) She didn't mean for it to happen, she thought of Fabian as a great new friend and all, but she couldn't help but find his little spiel as boring as the dickens. Locke gave her a little smile and a wink, and her knees virtually melted!   
  
Fabian caught her in his strong arms and sighed. "I told you not to look into his eyes." With that he let go of her arm and left the room, shaking his head.  
  
Thalassa stared after him for a moment, guilty that she hadn't been listening to his well-intended advice. However, there was nothing she could do about it right now, so with one last backwards glance toward the door, she wandered back into the midst of the Defenders.  
  
Everyone was laughing while a guy with spiky, chestnut brown hair was looking particularly sheepish.  
  
"Whoa, what'd I miss?" Thalassa asked over the extremely audible laughter.  
  
"Well, Griffin here just said that he thinks that you should be made an official Defender, and that he wouldn't want to get matched up against you in training!" chuckled Carson. This caused another wave of laughter, and Griffin blushed an even deeper crimson.  
  
"Why's that so funny?" Thalassa asked. Then, turning to face Griffin, she said admiringly, "Personally, I'm flattered that you said that!"  
  
Griffin started to say something, but was interrupted by Locke. "Thalassa," He began.  
  
"Thallie." Thalassa corrected. Locke ignored her and continued on.   
  
"We find that statement funny because, well, you a…a… girl."  
  
"So?" Thalassa shot back. "Back on Earth, there are definitely lots of women who could kick your sorry little a…"  
  
"Ah, so you're finally awake." Came the greasy voice of the Commander. "I trust that you've met everyone? You haven't? My, my, usually when any female enters the base, the boys are fighting just to talk to her! Well, I'm terribly sorry for their impolite behavior. Here's Locke, Carson, Griffin, Peyton, Shia, Rando, Viktor, Parker, and Rhett. But where is Fabian? He knows not to leave sleeping quarters unless it has been authorized by me."  
  
"Um, he went to… the… um… bathroom! Yeah, don't worry, he didn't leave the sleeping quarters, he's just in there, ya know, taking care of some business."  
  
"Uh-huh…" The Commander replied skeptically. "Training Wing in fifteen minutes! Demerits to anyone that's late!"  
  
"Sir yes sir!" The Defenders intoned automatically.  



	4. Shocking News

Chapter 4 Shocking News  
  
Thalassa and the Defenders had been in the Training Wing for almost two hours, when the Commander ran in, his eyes bulging oddly.   
  
"Everyone, man your battle stations! Get to your spacecrafts quickly, the Cardiophlobians have arrived!"  
  
After the announcement, chaos reigned. Thalassa had no idea what to do, so she followed the Defenders to the spacecraft chamber. She glanced up at the ceiling, and saw that it was retracting slowly into the walls, revealing a panoramic view of outermost space. She could see a swarm of what looked like vehicles out of star wars zooming around overhead.  
  
The Commander began shouting out instructions. "Locke, Rando, you go to ONE! Viktor, Carson, TWO! Griffin, Peyton, THREE! Parker, Rhett, FOUR! Shia, come with me in FIVE! And Fabian, take the girl with you in SIX! Everyone grab two fuel capsules, and let's MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!"  
  
Thalassa ran to find Fabian, while her mind raced from thought to thought, going too fast to understand anything that was going on! She was dumbfounded by the sudden news that she was going to battle! And she was nervous about how Fabians attitude toward her had surely changed since her actions earlier! And she would be flying in a spaceship! She couldn't even work her easy-bake oven, so how could she possibly control something this complex?  
  
Just two minutes later, Thalassa's questions had been answered. She and Fabian were up in the air, both seated in the cockpit of spacecraft SIX. Fabian made no sign of wanting to speak to Thalassa, so she was the one to break the ice.  
  
"Dude, I'm extremely sorry about what happened earlier. I really regret that I let my mind wander while you were explaining everything to me. I mean, it would have been truly kewliolio to know some of those things." She waited in vain for him to answer, but he just turned his chair slightly away from her. "Fabian, that hurts me right here." She said sarcastically, putting her hand over her heart. "I am offering only peace and friendship, but you're just not accepting that. Sure, I made some mistakes in the near past, but I am turning over a new leaf! So… what do you say?" Once again, her apology only brought silence. "Ya know what?" She asked irritably. "Screw you! That's right Mr.! SCA-REW YOU!"  
  
"Thallie, would you please be quiet for Jagrebian's sake? Our lives are on the line here can't you see that?" Fabian snapped suddenly.  
  
"No, I will not be quiet!" Thalassa retorted. "Because if I was quiet, I couldn't very well tell you that A GIGANTIC ENEMY SPACECRAFT IS HEADED OUR WAY!"   
  
Fabian gasped, and whipped his head all around, but couldn't see a ship of any sort. "Why you little bitch!" He exclaimed.   
  
"Ha! Made ya look!" Thalassa chirped triumphantly. Suddenly, they were both thrown forward, as the spacecraft gave a sickening shudder. "What was that?" Thalassa screamed, gripping the armrests on her chair tightly.   
  
"Look what you made me do!" yelled Fabian as he grabbed the joystick in front of him. "We've flown right into a circle of Cardiophlobian ships! Now the least you could do is help!"  
  
"I don't know how." Whispered Thalassa, for once frightened for her life.   
  
"What's to know?" asked Fabian. "You just aim the joystick and click."  
  
So Thalassa grabbed the joystick, and clicked, just as he said, and to her surprise, a ship just ahead exploded.  
  
"Omidormirjesús! Was that me?" Thalassa squealed.  
  
"Yep, it's all you." Fabian answered distractedly as he maneuvered the spacecraft out of the cardiophlobian main line of fire.  
  
"I am the master of funk… and evil!" cheered Thalassa as she hit yet another enemy ship. She then did some strange hand motion where she bent her middle and ring fingers, rolled her hands in a circle, and then shot her hands out in front of her.  
  
Fabian couldn't help but laugh at some of the odd things Thalassa said. For instance, he glanced over at her during the battle as she was concentrating on hitting a particularly evasive ship. She was hunched over the joystick, tongue sticking slightly out of the corner of her mouth, occasionally muttering things such as "Come back here you little chisel monkey!" and "Remember Thallie, only the fat survive!" Fabian was especially startled when Thalassa finally exploded a ship after nearly eight minutes of trial and error. She leapt up from her chair, and cheered "BOOYAH GRANDMA! YA LITTLE MISER! DON'T MESS WITH THALLIE!"  
  
Nearly two hours later, each spacecraft landed in a precise manner in the spacecraft chamber. Each spacecraft that is, except for spacecraft SIX. Feeling completely unstoppable since her recent explosion episode, Thalassa volunteered to land the spacecraft. Fabian didn't exactly stop this activity, he was actually rather tired; so he went along with it.   
  
Back down in the spacecraft chamber, the Defenders were stumbling out of their spacecrafts, tired and achy. It took them a few moments to realize that spacecraft SIX wasn't there. Assuming that they had been shot down, Peyton bowed his head and began uttering a prayer. The other Defenders quickly followed suit. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a deafening crash. Thalassa had landed the spacecraft quite ungracefully indeed. The Commander rushed over to the dented, smoking spacecraft just as Fabian and Thalassa poked their heads out of the rubble. He stood and stared silently for a moment, then croaked, "Fabian, show the girl where the tools are kept. You will both work to have Spacecraft SIX repaired, with no time to sleep and no meals until it is finished. I also expect you to polish every other spacecraft until I can see my reflection in the sides. Have I made myself clear?"  



	5. Elbow Grease

Even after their run-in with the Commander, Fabian and Thalassa were still in high-spirits. As they painstakingly pounded out the dents in spacecraft SIX, Thalassa belted out the words to all the latest hits, with Fabian occasionally humming along.   
  
"CAUSE I WANT IT ALL, OR NOTHING AT ALL, THERE'S NOWHERE LEFT TO FALL WHEN YOU REACH THE BOTTOM IT'S NOW, OR NEVER! IS IT ALL? OR ARE WE JUST FRIENDS, IS THIS HOW IT ENDS WITH A SIMPLE TELEPHONE CALL, YOU LEAVE ME HERE, WITH NOTHING AT ALL!" Thalassa sang at the top of her voice. She didn't know the rest of the song, so she just made up the words as she went.   
  
The seconds turned to minutes, which turned to hours, and they still hadn't even finished polishing Spacecraft SIX. They were no longer gleeful, they had suddenly realized that it was very dull, painful work.   
  
"My arm is officially numb!" whined Thalassa, as she vigorously scrubbed at a slight blemish in the metal-siding.   
  
"Oh quit complaining!" snapped Fabian. "This would all be much easier if you would just shut-up!"   
  
"But…" Thalassa didn't get to finish whatever she was saying, because she was suddenly hit on the face with a wet, soapy sponge. "Oh you're in for it now!" she threatened, as she picked up the bucket of water.   
  
"You wouldn't dare!" challenged Fabian.   
  
"Oh wouldn't I?" Thalassa asked, moving a bit closer. "Here's a little taste of what's coming for you." She dipped the bucket slightly, and let the cold water slowly drip down the back of his neck.   
  
Fabian hunched his shoulders from the cold, and tried in vain to dodge the now steady stream of icy cold water. It was then that he noticed the emergency fire extinguisher on the floor next to him. Keeping an eye on Thalassa, he cautiously reached for the shiny greenish-purple capsule. With a swift movement, he raised the extinguisher up to eye level and released the lever. Thalassa squealed and shielded her head from the white foam that was enveloping her. Fabian seized that moment to run and climb up the side of Spacecraft FIVE.   
  
The Defenders were walking down the corridor to finally continue their daily training session, when they passed the spacecraft chamber. They heard a cacophony of shrieks and yells coming from inside, so they poked their heads in to see what was going on. The scene that met their eyes was laughable. Thalassa, covered in foam, was slipping and sliding across the floor, while Fabian was sloshing more water at her.   
  
"Man, I thought that they were being punished!" exclaimed Shia.   
  
"Yeah," agreed Locke haughtily. "It looks like she's actually having…FUN with him."   
  
"Sheesh, last time I got a punishment like that I sure didn't have fun. I couldn't use my right arm for weeks!" Rando said, while slightly nursing his arm in remembrance. 


	6. Framed

The mental images came back for the first time during Thalassa's stay at the JCDC (Jagrebian Central Defense Center). The usual panic as the storm rolled in, the fire spreading rapidly, and the heart wrenching screams of the people who would be doomed. Thalassa jolted awake, trembling at what she had just witnessed. She took several soothing breaths, and after reassuring herself that it was just another dream, she drowsily got to her feet. She stretched her arms over her head, and glanced around the room. Still in a slight daze from fatigue, she wondered vaguely where everyone was. She was used to being the first one to rise, beating the Defenders to the showers time and time again. There was something extremely odd about the room, although she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She thought hard for a moment, picturing what the room looked like when the Defenders finally DID get out of bed each morning. Suddenly, EUREKA! She realized that each and every bunk in the room was neatly made. In fact, the room was completely spotless. The first thought that raced through Thalassa's mind was "OMIGOSH is it inspection day today?" She quickly dismissed that notion, deciding that someone surely would have woken her up, for fear of KP duties if her living space wasn't in tiptop condition.   
Thalassa froze as she entered the dining hall, out of shock from what she was seeing. There in the hall, along with the Defenders, were about 14 girls, ages ranging from 16-22. They were dressed in the finest of clothing, wearing bright, vibrant colors that accentuated each other as they sat around the table. The look on the Defender's faces was that of a child's, when they watch an ice cream man pile scoop after scoop of the smooth, cool, delicious substance onto a crispy, sugary cone.  
"Hey! Welcome new chicas!" Thalassa chirped in a good-natured way as she walked into the Hall. The girls all turned simultaneously to look at Thalassa, each one sporting a bitter look on her face. Thalassa plopped down in her usual chair, and folded her napkin neatly on her lap, trying to at least look slightly proper. The silence was deafening. Trying to make conversation, Thalassa asked "So, what brings you chicas to the JCDC?" Once again, all of the girls turned to look at a woman, probably in her early thirties who was sitting next to the Commander. "We have come from the faraway planet of Kiloquia." She stated. Thalassa noticed that her eyes flickered ever so slightly when she said this. "We are traveling to Jagrebian to try to settle a coalition to unite against the Cardiophlobians. Our spaceship had to land in an emergency procedure on the outskirts of this… what is it? JCDG?" "JCDC." Thalassa tried to put in, but was stopped by an angry glare from the Commander. "My name is Simone, and these are my faithful handmaidens." She gestured around the room at all of the young ladies surrounding her. Once again, her eyes flickered. "Well, my name's Thallie," Answered Thalassa, she sat up a little straighter, "I suppose you've met the Defenders?" She asked with a very false smile upon her face. One of the handmaidens spoke up for the first time. "Oh, yes we've been introduced. They've been EVER so gracious towards us." She gave Fabian a little smile, who blushed and ducked his head. "I'm sorry, I seem to have suddenly lost my appetite." Thalassa announced with disgust. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the training wing." She emphatically stood up, and marched across the room, her chin up. She slipped a crescent roll into her pocket as she walked past the tray, she didn't want to go hungry for the sake of making a scene! As soon as she exited through the tall, mahogany doorway, she doubled over, and made a loud gagging noise, hoping that it would be heard through the heavy wood. She slouched along the hallways, and banged through the double doors leading into the gym. She sat down on a stationary bike, and started peddling as fast as she possibly could. The bike began to wobble dangerously back and forth as the speedometer needle inched slowly to the right. Suddenly, the bike tipped too far, and flipped over, the wheel still spinning madly. Thalassa cursed and struggled to lift the heavy bike off of her legs. She managed to slide them out from underneath, creating severe scrapes on the backs of her knees when they rubbed against the carpet. The raw, red skin began to sting when she touched it gingerly with one finger. She cursed once again, and limped over to the living quarters to dig out some antiseptic.  
Thalassa stopped with her hand on the doorknob to the sleeping quarters. She had cleaned the scrapes with alcohol wipes, and was in a great deal of pain. All that she wanted to do was have a nice long nap. However, she could hear lowered voices wafting through the door, so she stopped to listen. "You need to stop changing the plan Bridgette!" Came a muffled voice. "Just get the information, and stick with our original orders!" "Alright! And stop calling me Bridgette! My name is Simone!" This was followed by more whispering, and then a sudden scream that cut off at the highest pitch. Thalassa backed away from the door, wondering about what she had just heard.  
Thalassa was just about to turn and leave, when the door flew open, and Simone burst out, glaring wildly in all directions. She stopped to sneer at Thalassa, then rushed down the corridor in the direction of the Great Hall. Thalassa curiously peered into the room. The scene that met her eyes caused her to lurch back in shock. Cautiously, she crept into the room, staying pressed against the wall. There, spread out in front of her, was a scene she had only seen in the worst horror movies, and in her darkest fears. Lying in the middle of the floor, traumatically broken like a porcelain doll when it shatters into thousands of tiny shards, was the handmaiden that had spoken up at breakfast that morning. Her silky, almost unreal ebony hair was draped limply over her dainty face, as her body lay crumpled in a heap, too folded to possibly be comfortable. Drops of maroon blood could barely be seen soaking through her once beautiful hair. A small stone basin that had originally been in the corner of the room was lying at her side, a large red stain across the bottom of it. Thalassa took a deep breath, and tiptoed over to inspect the girl. She lifted her hair to look at her face. Her eyes were glassy and wide open, unblinking, unmoving. Her skin was pale white with a bluish tint; the blood was draining from it fast. Thalassa suppressed a gag, and reached to feel for a pulse. There was none. The girl would lay still for all of eternity. Tears welled up in Thalassa's eyes. It wasn't fair, this girl still had the rest of her life ahead of her! And for Simone/Bridgette/whoever she was to cut it short, that was just pure evil! Something had to be done! Thalassa realized that she was dealing with a murderer, and that villain was loose in the main defense of the Planet Jagrebian! Thousands of peoples lives were at stake! She had to warn the Defenders! Thallie took one last look at the broken figure lying on the floor, and stood to face the door. She froze, as she saw the outline of all 10 defenders, the handmaidens, and the Commander clustered at the doorway. Thalassa stammered an explanation, which none of them paid any attention to. Suddenly, Simone elbowed her way to the front of the crowd. "There she is!" Thalassa shrieked. "She's the one that killed this girl! Take her away! She's evil!" The defenders stared at Thalassa for a moment, then Griffin and Rando came forward. They each grabbed Thalassa by the arm, and steered her out of the room. Thalassa could hear the muffled whispers that spread through the crowd. As they walked down the corridor, she could feel every pair of eyes burning into the back of her head. "Where are you taking me?" She asked. Neither Griffin nor Rando answered her. They just shook their heads. Thalassa sighed and trudged along, hoping for the best. They came to the Spacecraft Chamber. "Oh no," she said quietly. "You don't mean…?" "Orders from the Commander." Rando muttered, avoiding eye contact. "You're to be expelled from this place." "Oh so you're taking me back to earth. That's good, I thought you were going to ditch me on the streets of Jagrebian or something." She gave a nervous chuckle. Hearing no response, she turned to look at Rando. He turned away. "Griffin…?" she asked hopefully. He didn't answer.  
An hour later, she was standing alone on an unfamiliar bustling street. She had nowhere to go. 


End file.
